Young guns thrust into the firing line

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WHEN Newcastle United last played Barcelona in a Champions League match and Faustino Asprilla scored a mesmerising hat-trick, Shola Ameobi was sitting in the East Stand at St James’ Park, fantasising about becoming a footballer. It was 1997. “That was a great night and one that touched me,” the striker said. “It made me determined to make it.”

Tonight, in the absence of Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy — both suspended — Ameobi and Lomano LuaLua will form a raw pairing up front in the bear-pit that is the Nou Camp. They are both 21.